Politician are in a mad rush to correct their names including President Yoweri Museveni following the new rules about registration of persons ahead of the 2021 general elections .The Electoral Commission has put politicians on notice that aspirants with different names other than those on their academic documents will not be nominated for the elections.
President Museveni using his lawyer Kiryowa Kiwanuka has placed a notice in the Uganda gazette changing his name to correspond to his academic papers in
Museveni filed a deed poll- a legal instrument used for a person to change their names. In the deed poll, Mr Museveni stated that he was born in September 1944 and named Yoweri Tibuhaburwa Kaguta. However, his academic certificates bear the name Yoweri Tibuhaburwa Museveni.
“Since the completion of my education, the names Yoweri Museveni, Yoweri Tibuhaburwa Museveni, Yoweri Kaguta Museveni and Yoweri Tibuhaburwa Kaguta Museveni have been used interchangeably in reference to me,” Mr Museveni states in the sworn document.
“I formally and absolutely renounce and abandon the use of names Yoweri Museveni, Yoweri Tibuhaburwa Museveni, Yoweri Kaguta Museveni and assume and adopt in place of those names my full name Yoweri Tibuhaburwa Kaguta Museveni,” he states in his deed poll.
He continues: “For purposes of evidencing the assumption of the proper order of my full name, I hereby declare that I shall at all times from now in all records, deeds and instruments in writing and on all occasions that require the use of my full name, sign the name of Yoweri Tibuhaburwa Kaguta Museveni instead of the renounced names.”
Other political party leaders who have changed names included Robert Kyagulanyi, aka Bobi Wine, Gen Henry Tumukunde and Mugisha Muntu of Alliance for National Transformation.
Mr Kyagulanyi who has been interchangeably using names of Kyagulanyi Ssentamu R, Kyagulanyi Robert Sentamu, Robert Ssentamu Kyagulanyi and Kyagulanyi Ssentamu Roberts, now wants the correct order of his name to be Kyagulanyi Ssentamu Robert.
Mr Muntu, who has been interchangeably writing his name as Mugisha Greggson and Mugisha Gregory Muntu Oyera, now wants to be known as Mugisha Muntu Gregg to match particulars on his academic certificates.
Gen Tumukunde wants to be known as Henry Tumukunde Kakurugu instead of Tumukunde Henry BK or Henry Brian Kakurugu.
The EC announcement follows a 2017 court ruling in which Taban Amin’s victory as Kibanda North MP was annulled on account that he interchanged his names, which included Taban Amin Tampo Jegejege, Taban Amin Tampo as indicated in the national voters’ register and ID to Taban Idi Amin on the nomination form and academic certificates and Idi Taban Amin indicated in his passport.
